Adhesively formed and/or attached garment pocket



June 23, 1964 w EVANS ETAL 3,137,865

ADHESIVELY FORMED AND/OR ATTACHED GARMENT POCKET W 2 1 mwm m a W e m 5 m S N w M0 2 w% w Filed Dec. 22, 1958 June 23, 1964 w. F. EVANS ETAL ADHESIVELY FORMED AND/OR ATTACHED GARMENT POCKET 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Dec. 22. 1958 United States Patent 3,137,865 ADHESIVELY FORMED AND/0R ATTACHED GARMENT POCKET Walter F. Evans and Richard H. Hall, both of Church at 6th Ave., Nashville 3,. Tenn. Filed Dec. 22, 1958-, Ser. No. 781,981 4 Claims. (Cl. 2-247) This invention relates to an adhesively formed. and/or attached garment pocket.

More particularly the, invention pertains to the construction andv attachment of garment pockets by the use of thermosetting or thermoplastic adhesive material substituted entirely or to a major degree for heretofore conventional stitching,.the adhesive being applied as strips of plastic film or applied (as by spraying or brushing). to the cloth pieces before or during assemblage of the garment portions, each assemblage being conveniently and efficiently completed by symmetrically stacking a plurality of identical assemblages between a pair of (grounded) pressure-applying electrodeplates for electrostatic heating of the stack (in known. manner). by fields induced between said plates and an intermediate live electrode plate inserted medially of said. stack.. Each assemblage isthereby conveniently and efficiently completed, the heat and pressure activating. the. adhesive to thus bond all seams to form pockets and. adhere facings in position.

It is the principal object of this invention to provide stronger and/ or more economical garment pockets by substituting thermoplastic or thermosetting-plastic adhesives for conventional stitching in forming pockets and/or attaching pockets to garments.

It is another objectto provide a means of constructing garment pockets that:

(1) Simplifies the construction, thereby reducing the manufacturing cost and improving product quality;

(2) Eliminates the requirement of skilled operators required for economical production of sewing machine made pockets and expensive training for such operators;

(3) Have seams very little thicker than the pocket itself, thereby eliminating thicknesses found in sewn seams which detract from the finished appearance of laundered garments;

(4)Requires less material but without sacrifice of size, comfort or serviceability.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent as the following detailed description proceeds.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view, partly broken away, of a preferred embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 2 is perspective view of the inner side of a second embodiment illustrative of the invention.

FIG. 3 is fragmentary perspective of the watch pocket added to the FIG. 2 disclosure.

FIG. 4 is a rear elevational view of a hip pocket from inside the garment.

FIG. 5 is a vertical section of FIG. 4 on line 55.

FIG. 6 is an elevational view of a shirt-type patch pocket.

FIGS. 7 thru 10 are enlarged detailed sectional views of various seam constructions usable with the method herein disclosed.

With reference now to FIG. 1 of the drawings, the numeral 11 designates the upper portion of a left front pant panel of any woven or knitted fabric made from cotton, or synthetics, wool, etc. Panel 11 is notched at 1111 and has its edge 11e thereabove inturned and covered by a facing strip of fabric 13, the under surface of which may be precoated with adhesive material (such as pyroxylin) or a film of said plastic may be placed thereunder.

3,137,865 Patented June 23, 1964 The same procedure may be followed for the engaging surfaces of the panel 11 and its underturned edge portion lie. The pocket panel is a single piece of pocket fabric 15 joined along its front edge 15 to the pant panel 11 and to its own edges at the seam 15s by the same plasticwelding method. The rear pocket margin is similarly attached along edge 15r to panel 11 and to itself at seam 15s.

An important feature of this invention is the semi-swung construction of the pocket effected by terminating the underfolded portion of the pocket panel at 15;; and ad.- hesively securing the edge to the pant panel 11 by the plastic adhesive strip or coating 15c. As a desirable refinement a reinforcing patch 17 may be folded over the lower edge of the pocket and similarly adhered thereto along its top margins 17m. A second. facing strip 19 completes the. pocket. The assembled. pieces shown in FIG. 1 are then simultaneously heated to effect theplastic welding. It should be noted that the plastic material can be either thermosetting, or thermoplastic (with. its softening temperature above normal laundering and ironing temperatures). If the cement is to be brushed or sprayed on, it can be in the form of a water suspension of finely comminuted plastic or a solution thereof in a volatile solvent, in known manners. Mixtures of plastics can also be employed, involving both thermosetting and thermoplastic mixtures, as desired.

In the embodiment of FIGS. 2 and 3, the inturned edge 2li of the pant panel 21 forms its own facing strip, the rear edge of the pocket panel 23 being inserted between inturned edge 21i and pant panel 21 all the way to the fold line therebetween and adhered to both in the manner above described. In this form of pocket the front edge 23 is the folded edge. The bottom and rear seams 23b and 23r are plastic welded. An adhesive bond at 23s may be employed as a stay-down feature to hold the pocket against pulling out of place during use or turning wrong-side-out during laundering. A facing strip 23a completes the pocket just described.

A second feature of the embodiment of FIGS. 2 and 3 is the simple formation of a watch or coin pocket by notching and downturning the upper edge 21e and adhering it to itself as by the coating or film 25. A facing strip 27 is similarly adhered and the coin pocket is completed by the U-shaped adhesive bond 29.

FIG. 4 disclosed a hip pocket panel 31 adhered to a pant panel 33 along its upper margin 31a. Panel 31 can conveniently and material-savingly be terminated at de sired lower points (31u') rather than extended to the upper edge of pant panel 33 as is conventional in sewed trousers. Pocket opening 35 is formed and faced as in the previously described species. This pocket is also disclosed as being material-savingly semi-swung, having its outside half panel terminated at the pant-panel-adhered seam 31h. The vertical seams 31v are formed as in the pocket of FIG. 1, the lower portions being adhered to themselves and the upper portions being adhered to the pant panel 33.

FIG. 6 discloses a patch-type outside pocket of the kind used with shirts. The garment panel is designated 41 and the pocket panel 43. Panel 43 has inturned seam-forming edges 43e adhered to the panel 41 in the above-described manner. It also has a self-adhered upper inturned edge 43s. Bartacking 45 or other reinforcing at the pocket corners may be employed as a refinement.

In FIGS. 7-10 the numerals 71, 81, 91 and 101 respectively designate a pocket panel. Numeral 93 in FIG. 9 also designates a pocket panel, while the numerals 73, 83 and 103 indicate garment panels proper to which the pocket panels are adhered by the several strips (or coats) of thermoplastic (or thermosetting) material 75, 85, 105. In FIGS. 9 and 10 the pocket panel or panels 93 and 103 are adhered to themselves by adhesive material bonds 97 and 107, the former to form the double-bond pocket seam and the latter to insure shape-retention of the bellows-type patch pocket illustrated by FIG. 10, which obviously could be either an inside or outside pocket.

While we have disclosed certain preferred embodiments of our invention, it is to be understood that many changes can be made in the size, shape, composition and arrangement of the parts without departing from the spirit of the invention as defined by the subjoined claims, for example, by the use of an inside patch, a watch pocket could be added under the pocket of FIG. 1.

Having thus described our invention, we claim:

1. In a trouser made of cloth fabric, an exterior front trouser panel having an inner side, a main pocket disposed inwardly of and joined to said front panel, said main pocket having forward and rearward wall portions and a side access opening along one edge thereof, said forward wall portion having an outer side facing and disposed adjacent to the inner side of said front panel, and means adhesively joining the outer side of said forward wall portion to said inner side of said front panel to form a watch pocket delimited by the inner side said front panel and the outer side of said forward wall portion and having a watch pocket access opening at the upper edge of said front panel.

2. In a launderable trouser made of cloth fabric, an exterior front trouser panel having an inner side, a main pocket panel disposed inwardly of said front panel and being folded along a substantially upstanding line near the center of said front panel to provide overlapping forward and rearward layers having opposed marginal edges at the side edge of said front panel, means adhesively joining said marginal edges of said forward and rearward layers to form a main pocket having an access opening at the side of said front panel, said forward layer having an outer side facing and disposed adjacent the said inner side of said front panel, means adhesively joining said front panel at least to the portion of said forward layer adjacent said main pocket access opening, and adhesive means joining said outer side of said forward layer to said inner side of said front panel to solely form a watch pocket delimited by said inner side of said front panel and by the outer side of said forward layer and having a watch pocket access opening adjacent the upper end of said front panel.

3. The trouser defined in claim 2 comprising means adhesively joining said front panel to said forward layer at at least one region adjacent to and intermediate the ends of said upstanding fold line for preventing said main pocket from being turned inside out.

4. The trouser defined in claim 2 wherein a portion of the upper edge of said front panel is notched to define said watch access opening and to provide a downwardly turned marginal edge portion extending between said inner side and said outer side, and wherein means are provided for adhesively joining said marginal edge portion solely to said inner side.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,152,289 Carhartt et a1. Aug. 31, 1915 1,423,434 Kirk July 18, 1922 2,209,197 Falkovitz July 23, 1940 2,209,718 Falkovitz July 30, 1940 2,394,532 Shmikler Feb. 12, 1946 2,412,622 Koppelman Dec. 17, 1946 2,657,159 Nahman Oct. 27, 1953 2,778,026 Rosenthal Jan. 22, 1957 2,825,068 Montgomery Mar. 4, 1958 FOREIGN PATENTS 843,531 Germany July 10, 1952 444,012 Great Britain Mar. 11, 1936 

1. IN A TROUSER MADE OF CLOTH FABRIC, AN EXTERIOR FRONT TROUSER PANEL HAVING AN INNER SIDE, A MAIN POCKET DISPOSED INWARDLY OF AND JOINED TO SAID FRONT PANEL, SAID MAIN POCKET HAVING FORWARD AND REARWARD WALL PORTIONS AND A SIDE ACCESS OPENING ALONG ONE EDGE THEREOF, SAID FORWARD WALL PORTION HAVING AN OUTER SIDE FACING AND DISPOSED ADJACENT TO THE INNER SIDE OF SAID FRONT PANEL, AND MEANS ADHESIVELY JOINING THE OUTER SIDE OF SAID FORWARD WALL PORTION TO SAID INNER SIDE OF SAID FRONT PANEL TO FORM A WATCH POCKET DELIMITED BY THE INNER SIDE SAID FRONT PANEL AND THE OUTER SIDE OF SAID FORWARD WALL PORTION AND HAVING A WATCH POCKET ACCESS OPENING AT THE UPPER EDGE OF SAID FRONT PANEL. 